A gasp!
A hiss!
The entire assembly erupted in uproar.
Because this was practically open rebellion!
The so-called "clearing the emperor's side" from time immemorial had never been genuine; it was always a precursor to forcing abdication. Thus, for Yu Chaosheng to utter these words was to commit a cardinal sin against every dynasty in history. If these words were to be spread, not a single person present could escape complicity!
The reason Yu Chaosheng dared to speak them was that his Yu family harbored the deepest resentment!
From Yu Tingyu onwards, none of the four father and sons had met a good end. First, Yu Tingyu died in battle at Anqing during the late Yuan dynasty. Then, his eldest son Yu Tonghai perished fighting Zhang Shicheng. Following that, his second son Yu Tongyuan was stripped of his title due to the Hu Weiyong case. And his third son Yu Tongyuan died in battle at Baigou River during the Jingnan campaign. The sole surviving heir, Yu Tongyuan, held no noble title. Moreover, his descendants were forever tainted by the stigma of the Jingnan campaign and remained without titles until Yu Chaosheng and his father. It was only through the intercession of Yan Song that they received treatment commensurate with noble status, though nominally without a noble name.
Therefore,
His Yu family could be said to carry the most profound resentment. When Nanjing fell, the Yu family had, through various means, brought Emperor Jianwen to Hunan and Guizhou. They then secured the support of the Mu family and contacted several other influential figures who had suffered setbacks during the Jingnan campaign, thus forging a semi-public alliance of opposition.
In truth, from the aftermath of the Jingnan campaign until the present day, the reason the common folk in the southern provinces still spoke so fondly of Emperor Jianwen and readily spread rumors of his presence in their hometowns was precisely because certain individuals intentionally disseminated these tales in a semi-public manner to counter Zhu Di's Yongle Dynasty. This undercurrent later evolved into a symbol of the opposition between Confucian officials and imperial power, and now, it had escalated further into a confrontation with Zhu Mo and Jiajing.
With these words, it was almost an outright declaration, and naturally, everyone present was stunned. Even Wang Cai felt that these words might have gone too far. He was sent by the Junior Grand Secretary to observe the ceremony, incidentally to assess Zhu Mo's actions in Yunnan and Guizhou, and to gauge Mu Chaobi's stance. But at this moment, upon hearing of Zhu Mo's reforms, a shared sense of indignation arose among the crowd. They couldn't help but secretly rejoice, thinking that upon their return, they would likely earn the Junior Grand Secretary's favor.
He immediately declared:
"Zhu Mo's reforms are absurd and nonsensical! There is no difference from Zhang Cong of yesteryear! We failed to kill Zhang Cong back then, and this time, we absolutely cannot let Zhu Mo go! The perceived evil of 'clearing the emperor's side' is, in fact, the duty of a subject!"
This,
Mu Chaobi could not possibly oppose. He nodded and said:
"Good! It is as it should be!"
Wang Cai stared intently at him, then finally shook his head, thinking: This Mu Chaobi ultimately cannot align with the Yan family... If I return empty-handed, how can I report to the Junior Grand Secretary? My hope for a comeback, wouldn't that be in vain?